Making an album seems pretty plain sailing. In most cases, yes, but not at all for Celeste. When British soul and jazz singer Celeste released her debut album in 2021, it topped the charts in the UK, earned an Oscar nomination for ‘Hear my Voice’ and featured in the John Lewis Christmas advert with ‘A Little Love’. However, after the Covid-19 pandemic and a disagreement with her label and producers, her hot streak subsided.
After 4 years out of the game, the British singer released her second album Woman of Faces. In the nine-song, 33-minute album, Celeste shows a side we haven’t seen before. Her debut album was a soft introduction into the world of Celeste; she showcased her pure liquid gold vocals and her ability to turn words into gut-wrenching storytelling abilities. But Woman of Faces reignites that success in a bigger and bolder recount of the heartbreak that paused her career back in 2021.
‘Woman of Faces’, the title track, emerges as the album’s beating heart. It cinematically questions identity and selfhood, and its immediate resonance when performed at Glastonbury 2025 is captured perfectly in the studio recording. ‘Happening Again’ combines gentle guitar and piano, its quiet vulnerability creeping forward, while ‘Time Will Tell’ serves as the emotional core of the record, understated yet entirely gut-wrenching. ‘People Always Change’ recalls the spirit of her earlier viral hit ‘Strange’, almost acting as a sequel, closing on the haunting line “I thought I was nearly there”, a moment amplified during her performance on Later… With Jools Holland. Throughout, production from Jeff Bhasker and Beach Noise lends polish without diluting intimacy, blending touches of soul, jazz and even rock ‘n’ roll into a cinematic soundscape
‘Could Be Machine’ shifts the album’s energy entirely, acting as a cathartic release in which anger and rebellion merge with soul and rock energy. The closing track, ‘This Is Who I Am’, is cinematic and Bond-esque, the final unmasking of the woman of faces, reclaiming identity with quiet authority.
Despite spanning only nine tracks, the album feels complete, a full arc from despair to declaration. In its brevity lies potency: an emotional journey which navigates heartbreak, self-discovery and resilience. ‘Woman of Faces’ is a record forged through heartbreak, proof that Celeste’s quiet fire still burns fiercely beneath the masks.
Celeste: Woman of Faces – Released 14 November 2025 (Polydor Records)
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=n7Wdlqe7OuI&si=hel0FFB40W77K6E2
